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Thursday, February 13, 2014

A Dash Of This

I've been proofreading the new issue of Science Fiction Trails 11. The issue is completely awesome. But there is one thing I have been noticing in recent years that I don't like. More and more writers are using dashes as a sort of generic punctuation. Back in the stone age when I was in school they were frowned upon. I was taught to use them sparingly for effect. And that was about it. Now, they're everywhere--at the end of sentences--in place of commas--in place of semicolons. Did you notice I was using dashes? I don't like it. I haven't actually rejected a story for too many dashes, though I have been tempted.

I don't know what's behind this trend, other than the breakdown of civilization. I've wondered if people are too lazy to care or they really think dashes are wonderful. I know I'm fighting a losing battle, but I am not happy with this trend at all.